Fast Boston College start holds off UMass

Sunday

Dec 5, 2010 at 6:00 AM

For much of the second half, it looked as though the University of Massachusetts would make another one of those exciting comebacks that have become its specialty over the season. But despite shooting almost 60 percent in the second half, the Minutemen weren’t able to overcome Reggie Jackson and Boston College down the stretch, with the Eagles putting the game away, 76-71.

By Kerri Fleming SPECIAL TO THE SUNDAY TELEGRAM

For much of the second half, it looked as though the University of Massachusetts would make another one of those exciting comebacks that have become its specialty over the season.

But despite shooting almost 60 percent in the second half, the Minutemen weren’t able to overcome Reggie Jackson and Boston College down the stretch, with the Eagles putting the game away, 76-71, at the Boston Tip-Off Classic in the TD Garden.

“We gave ourselves a chance to win the game even though we didn’t pull it out,” said UMass coach Derek Kellogg, whose team is now 7-1. “I’m learning more about our team every day. I don’t think they’re ever going to quit. They’re always going to fight and compete, and now we just have to make some adjustments, basketball-wise, to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

BC (6-2) outplayed UMass throughout the first half and entered intermission up, 35-24. After Danny Rubin opened the second half with a layup to put the Eagles ahead, 37-24, UMass closed the gap with a 14-5 run, highlighted by strong play in the paint from Anthony Gurley (a game-high 22 points) and Sean Carter (11 rebounds).

The half wasn’t one-sided, however, and BC was able to keep up with UMass much of the time. While the Eagles spread out their scoring earlier, Jackson (17 points) and Josh Southern (16 points, 7 rebounds) took over the offense with help from Joe Trapani (17 points, 6 rebounds). BC didn’t allow UMass to score more than four points without answering.

“It seemed like every time we tried to make a run, they would come down and make a tough play,” Gurley said.

The Minutemen weren’t going to let the game end without a fight, an attitude epitomized by the play of Gurley and freshman point guard Daryl Traynham. While Gurley made his mark on the scoreboard, Traynham (9 points) used his high energy to draw key fouls and create turnovers late in the game.

With 10:43 left, Terrell Vinson grabbed a defensive rebound and dished it to Traynham. Traynham got the ball upcourt quickly and dished a perfect bounce pass through two Eagles defenders to Gurley in the paint. The senior finished the play with a nice layup and cut BC’s lead to 52-48.

“He gave us a great lift,” Gurley said of Traynham. “He was pressuring the ball defensively very well. (BC) turned it over a couple of times down the stretch due to Daryl’s great ball pressure.”

UMass cut the lead to two with 4:20 left, but Jackson, Trapani and Southern seemed unable to miss in the game’s final minutes and finished the job.

“In the second half, we did a nice job of making a tough comeback and really put a scare into them,” Kellogg said. “A good game, but we have a lot to learn to get better.”

For Gurley, a Boston native, the outcome was especially sour. Still, he’s happy with the way his team played.

“It feels good to be home, but coming home with a loss doesn’t really feel that great,” he said. “But I think we showed that we’re very resilient. We fought back in the second half. It just shows the character of our team — we won’t quit until the buzzer sounds.”

The Minutemen will try to return to their winning ways at 7 p.m. Wednesday when Maine comes to the Mullins Center.